NASCAR

NXS: Blake Koch Wins Sparks Energy 300 Pole

The old saying is the first one is best. For Blake Koch and his No. 11 Leaf Filter team, winning the team’s first-ever Coors Light Pole Aware will be one for the memory books.

In the final round of qualifying, Koch turned a lap time of 52.188 at 183.490 to edge Kasey Kahne by .108 to win his first career pole in the Sparks Energy 300 at Talladega Superspeedway. This is Koch’s third top-10 start in 2017.

Koch has been fast ever since his team unloaded and hit the track on Friday. In practice 1, Koch’s ran a total of 12 laps and on his 7th circuit around NASCAR’s largest track, he laid down the fastest of the session with a lap time of 49.722 at 192.591. In the shortened final practice, Koch was second fastest with a time of 52.508 at 182.814.

Daniel Hemric will roll-off third followed by Ben Kennedy and Brandon Jones in fourth and fifth, respectively.

The only other Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regulars to qualify in the top-10 was Ty Dillon in seventh and Joey Logano in eighth.

About Jacob Mullins

Jacob Mullins serves as the managing editor and senior NASCAR writer covering all three national touring series's. You can find him on on Twitter at @JMulls15. An intercollegiate athletic administrator by trade, Mullins can be found at the big tracks as well as the local short tracks in the Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania area. Mullins enjoys social media, photography and graphic design. A native of West Chester, Pennsylvania, Mullins follows all forms of racing, Major League Baseball (Baltimore Orioles) and college football (Virginia Tech Hokies).